Tonight in DVR: Fond Remembrances of ‘Frasier’

We’re here to tell you just how to set your DVR before heading out for drinks or dinner–or just watching something better on TV!

The most critically-adored of the Friends-Frasier-Seinfeld 1990s troika is also the least-remembered–you can watch Jerry or Jennifer on basic cable, but Kelsey Grammer and his Seattle-socialite pals are mired on the Hallmark Channel. (This seems to us a bit off-brand, at least until Hallmark introduces a greeting card you can use when apologizing for spilling Bordeaux on your host’s prized Eames chair.) Tonight brings four episodes, including the incredibly of-its-time one in which Frasier worries about a recurring homoerotic dream (gay panic really does seem pretty 1996!). Frasier is in that group of shows that were widely watched and yet had little or no legacy–Will & Grace and Ally McBeal are two other prime examples–but it holds up as late-night viewing given its fairly classic structure and ultratight adherence to formula. (There are three basic story structures in the Western world: a man goes on a journey, a stranger comes to town, and Niles and Frasier throw competing parties on the same night.) Besides, you’ve already watched all of the Seinfelds anyhow!